Undercover
by Crests of Waves
Summary: Edward, a bored spy posing as a doctor, realizes the perils of his job as he falls for a gorgeous regular at the hospital. The bizarre series of events that follows effectively removes banality from his job description. AH, canon pairings.
1. Chapter 1

Dressed in black slacks and an untucked crisp, white button-up shirt, Edward Cullen looked less than ready for the day ahead of him. Sitting comfortably at a brand new stiff black dining table, he couldn't tell if he was supposed to be enjoying his job or not. His gorgeous new "wife" was out in the field. She handled evenings. He wished he'd been assigned nights. Days were always so boring, so mundane.

When he applied to be an "in-field investigator" (he preferred the term spy) with Zone 50, he'd imagined something a little more glamorous than what he was getting. Apparently, you shouldn't pick careers based on your own idealized, cinema-based views. The disappointment, though, did not mean he hated what he did. There were times, more often than not, when he actually enjoyed what he did, but after five years on the job, he'd been assigned a dead-end job. He was located somewhere in the very distant outskirts of Seattle. They were investigating the illegal buying and selling of organs, particularly kidneys. The government had been investigating this particular case for a while but had not been able to get a lock on which doctors were involved. Most people thought developed nations were far ahead of this procedure, but when there is a long waitlist and people become desparate for life, things happen.

Edward and his "wife" had been placed at a relatively unknown hospital as physicians (both were medically trained), Edward as a nephrologist and his "wife" as a family physician. He had received a bit of a crash course in nephrology beforehand. He knew what he was talking about, but he'd done his residency at a Zone 50 sponsored location three years ago. He had obviously needed a refresher.

A lock clicked faintly from the front room and in walked his so-called wife. "Honey, I'm home!" She said sarcastically.

"Good for you. Anything worthy?"

"After a fucking month? I don't think so." Both of them knew they'd been assigned a fairly unimportant location. All the doctors seemed like straight-laced, small-town folk. No one had any idea about any controversy anywhere in the world. They lived in their own small bubbles. Edward couldn't help but be frustrated by the fact that the company had failed to rule out this location beforehand. Nothing was going on here. They didn't even get any major organ transplant cases. Most of those were transferred to the larger hospitals.

"Look Rose, I think at the next briefing we should tell them that nothing's going on here – that we think nothing will happen."

"Look Edward, I don't think they care what we think. I have a better idea."

"Rosalie! I already told you that wouldn't work. They'd just think we were whining."

"I know, but come on! Let's pretend to not get-along. It won't be that hard. Especially since the feelings I have for you don't come close to love."

"Mutual, darling."

Rosalie Hale and Edward Cullen had usually worked in opposite sides of the country and rarely met at the headquarters. It was this way until the two had started training together a few months ago by request from their boss. When they first met, Rosalie had naturally tried to one-up Edward at the shooting range, hand-to-hand combat, study sessions, shortened residency and anything else that came up. She'd always believed in being independent and couldn't stand the fact that she would have to work with someone else, especially a man, in her next assignment. Edward cared less about the competition. At first, he found it minutely irritating, but he'd grown accustomed to it – even fond of it. They'd come to develop more of a sibling bond, which, of course, came with the fights and rivalry.

"On second thought, I think there's supposed to be a new batch of residents coming in soon. I don't think it could be – "

"No, I think it might help. You know what chief said last meeting? The key to going beneath the surface is – "

" – understanding what superiors are telling their inferiors."

"Load of bullshit if you ask me, but I think we might as well pay attention to it. There isn't exactly anything else to do that we haven't done."

"Wait, did you get an invite to the Pharmacists' Christmas Party?"

"Yeah, why?"

"How?!"

"Well, I know a few of the people. Nancy – "

"You were flirting! You fucking hypocrite. You told me stay away from Dr. Schmidt, but you're off with some – "

"I was _not_ flirting. And, Dr. Schmidt is a sleaze."

"Yes, you were. And, you think I didn't know that about him already? I was just working my assets."

"Too much."

"Eddie, I know you have a sad brotherly reflex when it comes to seeing me with men, but let it bring peace to you that I don't plan on changing my status from single to taken any time soon."

He ignored her, and went back to his previous pose: head in resting in his hands, staring out the large glass windows. It looked like it was going to snow soon.

"When are you going in tomorrow?"

His work cell rang as he was about to answer. Looked like he'd be going in today.

Rosalie's pager rang a few moments after he'd received news of someone needing dialysis. He'd forgotten she was on-call this week.

"What is it this time?"

"Some girl broke her arm, opening her car door or something. You?"

"First time dialysis."

"Nice."

"Shall we?" Edward indicated the door with his head. His white coat – a sign of prestige he could care less about – was on the coat hanger right next to it.

"Same car?"

"Sure. If you don't mind hanging around for a bit."

"It's fine. Let's go."

The duo arrived at the hospital in minutes were seeing their respective patients a few seconds after. Edward, surprisingly, finished faster. One of the other doctors on his team said he'd take care of it since the man was actually a former patient of his.

He drummed his fingers on the fading cafeteria table as he waited for Rose to finish up her consult and plaster maybe. He failed to understand why a broken bone required on-call assistance. He heaved a final sigh, but Rose entered on cue with gorgeous brunette beside her. The two were laughing as if they were former acquaintances.

"Edward, this is Bella. Bella, my husband Edward."

Edward smiled brightly, extending his hand toward the beauty before him. She smiled timidly before indicated that she couldn't shake hands. She had a cast on. He laughed at his stupidity and did a Namaste – Indian-style. This received a laugh Bella. Even her laugh amazed him. Goodness, this could not be good. He needed to snap out of it. He was "married" man.

"It's nice to meet you. Rosalie was nice enough to help me out. Actually, my family's out of town, and…well, I tend to be a bit of a clutz."

"I see." He grinned.

"So, you're a nephrologist?"

"No! What gave me away?!" She giggled in response. She obviously seen the title printed on his coat and badge.

"Since you know what we do, what is it that you do?" Rosalie interrupted, giving Edward a knowing look.

"I'm a teacher at the elementary school a few blocks down from here, actually. Perfect location for me."

"That's great. It must be exciting to know that you're changing people." Edward had considered going into lecturing before he'd finally accepted the invitation to join Zone 50 as an analyst, and then locking himself in the career by applying for in-field investigator.

"Well, it's exciting, but it's not all that glamorous." She smiled weakly – perhaps recalling something that had recently occurred with her kids. "Anyway, I should head out. There are fifty papers on my desk just calling my name. It was nice meeting you both, and thank you Dr. Masen – "

"It's Rosalie, please."

" – Rosalie for your help."

"It was no problem." As Bella left, Rosalie turned to Edward, wiggling her perfectly trimmed eyebrows at him.

He laughed loudly – maybe a little too loudly – in response and replied, "Rule number one: Don't bond."

"Like hell. Remember Jones? He dropped out after he met Ivana – who he was supposed to be tailing."

"That's Jones. Anyway, it's not like I'll be seeing her again." He sounded more disappointed than nonchalant.

"It's not like you don't want to. Plus, I've just found out that her dad is chief of police in the town. I think he might know a few things we don't."

"What excuse would we be using to meet this dad?" He sounded incredulous at the idea of going into question an unsuspecting policeman.

"You'll see, darling."


	2. Chapter 2

Edward had dressed and left by the time Rosalie had gotten up to make herself coffee the next morning. Sleeping in separate rooms was to their advantage, not that either of them wanted to share a bed.

Making sure her voice was no longer groggy, she placed a few calls to her bosses in New York and to the local police department. Charlie Swan was apparently on leave for the next few days, something about a fishing trip. You'd think that sort of information wouldn't be readily available to the public. They could use a few tips from the organizations she'd worked with. Telling them that she'd call back to set up an appointment, she hung up and left to work for the day.

-----

The department head was in surgery, and no new patients had been admitted. No one had any scheduled dialysis appointments and no follow-ups were on his schedule. This left Edward wondering what he was still doing at work. Usually, his days were filled to the brim with appointments, follow-ups and rounds. Today, though, it seemed like no one's kidneys were malfunctioning. That was a good thing, he told himself. He'd already done all the major snooping and forging of friendships in the past month, and there seemed to be nothing of note for him to do.

Sitting alone in his cramped office (which he shared with two other doctors), he considered taking a nap, when his mind finally caught up with him. Of course, he wouldn't have anything scheduled for today! He was supposed to be showing some new internal medicine resident around since the his direct superior was on a lengthy leave. On cue, a chipper knock sounded on his office door.

"Come in." Smoothing out any nonexistent creases on his shirt, he sat back and waited for the poor new victim.

"Hello. Um, sorry. I mean, is Dr. Igor Iverson in?"

"No, actually he's on leave due to a family emergency. I'll be showing you around for the first week. I'm Dr. Edward Masen." He reached out his hand to shake the resident's hand. He had yet to accidentally mess up his name, something to be proud of, he thought.

"Dr. Jasper Kwakowski." He reached out his hand in a firm handshake. Not easily intimated, Edward noted.

"So, you plan on continuing on with a fellowship in nephrology?"

"No, actually, I haven't yet decided. Dr. Iverson is an internist, right?"

"Yes, as you should already know, I'm sure. Anyway, let's get out of here before we die of suffocation. I'll show you around."

Making small talk and pretending to act intimidating, Edward showed the young doctor around. As jaded and cold as he wanted to act, he did not seem to have the heart to do so. Jasper had already grown on him. His demeanor was calm and soothing.

"If you don't mind my asking, sir, are you a surgeon, as well?"

"If you're asking if I perform transplants, then the answer is no. I never trained as a surgeon. I do a lot of post-op work when the surgeons are heavily booked. But, of course, this hospital is rarely that busy."

"Oh, I assumed, I guess that you'd be in the operating room. I've always gotten the sense that a regular nephrologist was like a neurologist who had not become a neurosurgeon – a failure." Edward stared shell-shocked at the man before him. New residents rarely, if ever, spoke haughtily to their superiors. He did not have time to respond to the taunt as Jasper had been called by another doctor behind him, probably the doctor he was temporarily reporting to. He made a mental note to let Igor know about his attitude.

---

Heading off to lunch with a clearer head, he met Rosalie at their usual table. She seemed to have a mysterious smile on her face as she greeted him politely. "What is it this time?"

"Guess who got back from leave two days earlier than expect?"

"I didn't know you were on leave. Why didn't I get a leave?!" He look appalled at the idea that Rosalie had been given a vacation.

"Not me, you doofus! I was talking about Chief Swan. He came back early. He'd gone south to visit a few friends, but he's back. I don't think people go fishing this time of year anyway, but – where was I? Oh yeah, I'm going to set up an appointment with him. I think you can tag along if you want."

"Wait – what?! What are we going to talk to him about?!"

"Shh – we're in public, honey." He hated that she exploited their pseudo-relationship to annoy him with cheesy nicknames. "I told him I wanted to talk to him about his daughter – that I was concerned about her incoordination and lack of balance."

"What?! You can't lie!"

"I'm not. I _am _concerned she's going to end up falling to her demise at some point in her life. _You_ didn't see her on our walk down the stairs to the cafeteria."

"That's still lying. You're implying something that's not there."

"I don't know it's not there. Besides, what's the point of having political immunity in Oregon if we're going to be a pair of goodie-two-shoes."

"We don't have immunity for this, we have it – "

"So that we can kill Chief Swan and get away with it. Yeah, that's much better than making him think his daughter has no cerebellum." She made sure to speak without moving her lips so much. They'd been trained to prevent being overheard or have their lips read in crowded locations.

"No cerebellum? Rosalie, let's be serious. This could lead to emotional damage. Zone 50 likes to avoid being sued, if you remember the workshop on – "

"Human behavior and feelings, yes, I know. It was a load of bullshit. No one can sue us if they don't know us. Let them sue Rosalie Masen and see if Rosalie Hale gives a shit."

"Look, I don't know if _you_ have a frontal lobe, and you're trying to falsely diagnose someone who has nothing wrong with her cerebellum."

"Just because I don't care about every single person who walked on this planet doesn't mean I don't care at all. You have to understand why I'm – "

"- such a cold-hearted bitch? Yes, I know your past, but it's time to move on. Maybe some psychiatric help would – "

"Shut up before I punch your beautiful face. My past made me the best female agent Zone 50's ever had, and I will react and respond the way I want to anything that happens to me. I don't need a damn shrink telling me how I'm supposed to act."

"Okay, whatever you say. It still doesn't change that your treatment of Chief Swan and his family is beyond unethical. There has to be a better way. And, seriously, talking to him about his daughter's health isn't going to give us a lead on the assignment."

"No, but it gives us an excuse to get close to the family. If the hospital has any secrets, I'm sure the police department knows something's fishy. Just trust me on this. I don't plan on making them believe that Bella has some sort of terminal disease. I'm just suggesting a routine check-up and MRI."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Edward wearily gave in to Rosalie's demands. He was about to add a warning when a raucous group of doctors walked into the cafeteria. Looking over his shoulder he noticed Jasper, the new resident, among the bunch. He noticed, however, that his white coat was much longer than a normal resident's, and we wore glasses. Spotting Edward staring in his direction, Jasper headed towards him.

"A proper introduction? Dr. Jasper Whitlock. I'm a psychiatrist."

"What?" Though he was confused, Edward's temper was flaring.

"I've worked in the Psychiatry Department here for two years. What happened earlier is sort of like an initiation rite. I'm sorry you had to experience that."

Before Edward could deliver his cutting remark, his cell vibrated, letting him know of an incoming call. "Dr. Masen, I'm very sorry I forgot to tell you that the new resident had been transferred to Dr. Jacobs. I thought Delise had delivered the message."

"You wasted my time. I could've been seeing patients. Please, be on top of things next time, Fran."

"Very sorry, Dr. Masen. It won't happen again."

He hung up without saying anything. "Dr. Whitlock, it's not all fun and games when people's lives are at stake. I could sue you."

"Sorry, Dr. Masen. As a side-note, though, let's all relax. I had a look over your schedule for the week. You had no new patients coming in today. Please, understand that it was all in good fun. This has been occurring since before I was here. We - " Edward relaxed slightly. He knew it was just a joke, and Jasper had meant no harm, but he'd already been wired up by Rosalie.

"It's fine. I've been having a bad day." He usually forgave easily, and he wasn't going to make Jasper an exception.

"So, it's all good?"

"Yes."

"Well, welcome to the hospital then. We're a small community here, so we like to stay on friendly terms with everyone. I hope you weren't offended." Edward noticed the slight southern lilt to Jasper's voice as he spoke. He realized that Jasper must've faced them same initiating prank in his first month here. He'd probably reacted better than Edward had.

"No problem. I'd heard horrendous things about the Psychiatric Ward here, but I had no idea the doctors were just as bad as the patients." He grinned at Jasper, letting him know he meant it in jest, but it was a jab nonetheless.

Laughing, Jasper went to join his group of friends at the other side of the cafeteria.

"Wow, that was…"

"Forget about it, Rose. Have you faced your share of initiation rites already?"

"No, but I'm alert now. It's kind of like a frat." She laughed freely. Straightening up suddenly, she added, "I think we should keep an eye on Jasper. He seems kind of suspect."

"I don't think someone who was doing something illegal on the side would be such a showman, but it couldn't hurt to do so."

"Not at all, so when are you free to visit with Chief Swan."

"Whenever you are."

"Tomorrow at six? I already set it up with him."

"Then, why ask?" He expected no less from her.

"Courtesy, babe." With that she left the cafeteria, leaving Edward rolling his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Although his past consisted heavily of toying with people's emotions, he could not bring himself to understand Rosalie's point of view in the matter. How was this going to get them acquainted with the Chief?

"Chief Swan – "

"Please, Dr. Masen, call me Charlie." For obvious reasons, it looked a tad comical to Edward to see the Chief of Police wipe his brow. He obviously cared for his daughter. "What I don't understand is – Bella's been like this her whole life. Why now?"

"I looked at her medical records, I'm afraid that she's never gotten a blood test and hasn't had a routine check-up in ten years. I understand people don't like to visit their doctors for fear of bad news, but it's better to find something before it – "

"Look, Charlie, I think what Rose is trying to say is that she doesn't think there's anything wrong with your daughter. She's just concerned about her health. Her lack of coordination isn't exactly a concern, but there's nothing wrong with getting an MRI and a bit of blood work done."

"Dr. Masen – "

"Please, let's avoid informality and confusion. I'm Edward and this is Rosalie."

"Yes, I'm willing to have the work done on her, but I'm afraid I don't understand why you didn't see Bella personally – and why both of you had to come."

At this, Rosalie smiled brightly and laughed charmingly. Edward almost gagged. "Actually Charlie, we've been here for a month or so now, and we just finished settling in, so we wanted to get around town, get to know a few people. I'd also heard from a few others that Bella still lives with you, and I figured patient confidentiality doesn't apply to father-daughter relationships. I know how much parents care for their children." At this Rosalie paused briefly, and Edward soothingly circled his thumb on the back of her hand. This was a genuine gesture; not an act. This did not go past Charlie's notice. He figured they'd probably been having a hard time having kids.

"Thank you – for caring. You have no idea the kind of doctors I've met. I mean – I don't mean to speak badly of anyone – but – "

"We work with them. We know what you're talking about. Some of things I've seen, I'm surprised they get away with." Rosalie was a sweet-talker. She knew how to wheedle her way into things.

"What I'm surprised about is that the hospital has an untarnished record. Not a single malpractice lawsuit." Edward was slightly taken aback. He hadn't realized that the man would be so ready to talk shit about the local hospital.

"I understand completely. I've taken a look at their records – "

"I didn't realize they let new doctors look at these things."

Edward finally cut into the conversation. "Actually, we're with a special program that sends doctors to problem or understaffed areas. They provide us with the information to help us deal with problems. It's somewhat unfortunate that we've been unable to get the hospital administration unwilling to cooperate."

"I could pull a few strings, but I have to say I've never heard of such a program. What is the organization?"

"Saving Medicine. It's a melodramatic title and mission statement, but we take in complaints from patients and send doctors to the organizations – with or without consent. We were initially met with restraint at Mercy, but they decided that we could go in incognito. Makes it all the more fun." Edward grinned. Rosalie was good at the sweet-talking, but he excelled with creating covers and sounding exceptionally believable.

"Wow. So, they don't know you're here to diagnose the system?"

"No, and we hope to keep it that way."

"Of course, I won't give them a heads-up. I can help you if you like."

"Actually, that'd be great. Why don't we set up something after Bella's all cleared?"

"Yes, that would work."

Edward and Rosalie got up to leave, shaking hands and exchanging thanks with Charlie.

Back in the car, Rosalie smiled triumphantly. "I told you to trust me. I'm always right."

"Sorry, Dr. Masen, I bow down to your prowess and cunning."

"Thank you, Dr. Masen, but I have to give credit it where it's due. Amazing cover. Why didn't I know about Saving Medicine before this?"

"I just logged the information before we came in. It's set up with a fun fake website and credentials. I figured this would be an opportunity to get the Chief in on it. He was only all too willing."

"I assume it's because he's been there a lot with his daughter. He knows how terrible the emergency department is."

"Oh, have you had rounds there?"

"Yeah, I don't know how some of those doctors have been accredited."

"You know what's funny? The urology and nephrology departments are squeaky clean. All the physicians are great."

"They have to be for such a cover-up. It only makes sense."

The jolt of electricity provided by the meeting with Charlie was all Edward had needed to regain the motivation he needed. He woke up surprisingly chipper the next morning and found Rosalie the same.

"Bella has an appointment today." She grinned brightly.

"I assume you asked to be her primary?"

"Yep, I don't think she's ever seen her new primary anyway, so it's all good."

"Is Charlie coming with her?"

"No, I think her cousin, Emmett, I think, is coming in with her."

"Alright then, let's get going."

The day, though supremely boring in its own right, was still new for Edward. He stared at everyone with appropriate levels of suspicion and paranoia.

"Rosie, darling!" Rosalie widened her eyes and started walking in the opposite direction. He laughed raucously before following behind her.

"What the hell's wrong with you? I haven't seen you this fucking chipper in ages. Tone it down, will you?"

"Stop being nonchalant, babe, we're about to crack this case wide open and get out of this hell hole."

"Yeah, or it's just that Bella's coming in today."

On cue, someone called behind them, "Rosalie!"

"Bella! You're early."

"Yeah, Emmett was having a freak-out session. He didn't want to understand that this was just routine, precautionary. Big idiot." At this, a giant bear – or a man, Edward couldn't tell – ran into Rosalie at full speed, bombarding her with ridiculous questions.

"Calm down, sir. There's nothing wrong – and if there is, I guarantee it's nothing serious."

Visibly calmed down, Emmett took notice of the beauty before him. Rosalie seemed to like him, as well, but seeing it strictly against her principles, she showed no signs of it. "Thank you so much, Dr. Masen. I was worried – "

"It's perfectly fine. Besides, what's a day without having someone almost run you over."

"Yes, exactly. I'll be here to complete your day any time." He winked in an over-the-top manner.

Edward laughed loudly, thinking it the perfect to time to avenge himself for all the pain Rosalie had put him through. "Actually, I think I do a pretty good job of completing her day," Edward laughed once more. "Dr. Edward Masen, Rosalie's poor husband." They shook hands with Emmett looking slightly downtrodden.

"We're in an open relationship." Edward's head shot in Rosalie's direction. What the hell was she talking about?!

"What?" Emmett seemed to have no clue what she was talking about.

"Kidding," she laughed to show she really was. "People think that it's a bit shocking to see two incredibly beautiful people married, they think there must be a flaw in our relationship somewhere. I'm happy to oblige."

"I'm sorry, she did not just call us beautiful. You have to excuse my wife. Sometimes – "

"Sometimes she's just joking. Anyway, Bella, you want to head on into examination room. Let's get it over with."

Bella followed obligingly, shooting a few discreet – or at least what she thought was discreet – glances Edward's way. She didn't understand why she couldn't control herself. This was a married man. Of course Edward didn't help, he shot a wink Bella's way before being barreled over by what looked like a pixie.

Bella could not hear what went on after that as she was guided into the examination room. Behind her Edward struggled to breathe as he tried to push off the spiky-haired thing.

"Edward Anthony Cu –" The pixie could not get out the rest of her words as Edward had covered her mouth and pushed her into a closet. Immediately after, the two heard someone frantically bang on the door behind them.

"Alice, shut up. My name is Edward Masen. Do not now or ever refer to me as Cullen. We are friends – not cousins. You knew me in my university days and have never spoken to me since. End of story."

Alice stared. "I knew it! You never went to Julliard's did you?! You went to work for the CIA. I knew it. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not the CIA," Edward hissed. "I can't tell you, and I don't want to know how you guessed. Let's just give this a rest. Okay? Don't blow my cover. This is more important that you can imagine."

Alice simply hugged her beloved cousin before opening the door and stepping out. "Hi, Jasper, sorry about that. Edward thought I was being too hyper for a hospital setting."

"What?!" Jasper looked wary. He had been the one to band on the door while the two of them were in the closet.

"Oh, sorry. Jasper this is Edward, an old college friend. Our families go way back. I haven't seen him since." She smiled brightly.

"Oh, I had no – "

"Alice, let's get dinner tonight. I have to go – Dr. Iverson is here." Edward left, following an important looking man in a white coat. He left an excited Alice and a bewildered Jasper in his wake. Edward had not known that Alice had moved here last year. He should've kept in touch, but with his job it was hard. This might create a few problems for him, not to mention Rosalie was going to give him hell.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

--

Iverson was back early from his so-called extended leave. "Is your father stable now?"

"Yes, he's doing fine. I hope everything's been running smoothly here in my absence." The elderly doctor shared an office with Edward and headed the Department of Internal Medicine. The hospital was so small and perhaps a bit over-staffed, resulting in a lack of private offices, even for the higher-ups.

"Perfectly fine. Everything's been pretty slow actually."

"That's great. You know what, Masen? Take the rest of the day off. Riley told me there's no one coming in, and I'll take the cases for the rest of the day. I heard you've been working longer shifts and volunteered to be on-call. I don't want you being drained out in your first month here."

"No, it's perfectly fine. Rosalie's always in, and there isn't much to do at home yet."

"Look, go home. I don't want to see your face here until noon tomorrow. Get out, no excuses." Edward rolled his eyes and went to tell Rosalie that he'd head home and come back to pick her up when her shift ended. Once there, however, he found only Bella sitting in Rosalie's seat.

"Hey, is Rose with another patient?"

"I don't know. She said she wanted to pull some strings to get the blood-work done stat, so I won't have to come back."

"Well, I hear the ER and ICU are slow, so maybe the techs will be willing? So, anyway, how are you? When does the cast come off?"

"I'm good. I have no clue when it comes off – it's already starting to itch. It sucks being a klutz." She looked angered at herself for being so careless.

"Being a klutz comes with its advantages," he grinned brightly. "It makes for a better knight in shining armor."

"Yeah, if only. The only guys I know are Emmett, my dad and Jasper."

"Dating life in shambles? The only prescription for that would be getting out of this hell hole."

"What? No, I love it here. This is home," she looked somewhat taken aback by the comment. "Why are you here if you don't like it?"

"I didn't really know what I was getting into when Rose and I decided to come. She wanted a quiet life, I guess. I hate this sort of thing. Adrenaline is my thing, not empty beds and careless doctors."

"Did Rosalie force you?" She looked tentative and regretted the question as soon as it was asked.

"Well, not really. I mean, I don't know. We don't exactly mesh well all the time. We're both dominant personalities, but sometimes someone has to back down, and this time it was me." Edward had no idea where all this was coming from. He and Rosalie were supposed to act the part of the perfect couple.

"Oh. Well – I – um – "

"We've been married for three years. I know it looks like we get along so well, but not everything is as perfect as it seems. That's marriage, though, right?"

"Well, I wouldn't know." She laughed, trying to break the tension she hadn't realized was building.

"Trust me, you don't want to know." He started laughing, as well. For some reason or other, he felt a pull toward the innocence of the girl before him. Her dark hair was messy around her shoulders, down to her waist. The cast on her arm was still the bright pink it was last week, the only signature on it was a messy scrawl he couldn't make out. He was dressed simply in fitting jeans and a white t-shirt. This was the last woman he thought he'd ever feel drawn to. He'd seen his fair share of intriguing, hot women who worked for Zone 50. He always thought he'd end up with someone he worked with, but the awkward connection he felt with Bella was something he'd never experienced before. And, he didn't even know her. "What the hell!?" was the only thing he could think.

Rosalie came into find Edward leaning back on her desk and Bella in her chair, both staring at each other without speaking. "Ahem – am I interrupting something?"

"No, no, Edward was just – "

" – waiting to tell you that I'm heading home. I'll come by to pick you up when you're done."

"Why? You still have five hours left."

"Iverson told me to head on home," he looked pointedly at Rosalie, communicating to her that she should find a way to the Internal Medicine Department to get a whiff of what was going on.

"Alright, I guess, you'll just have to make two trips." She glanced towards Bella.

"Wait, I'm sure Emmett and I can give Edward a ride home. I don't think he'll mind. That way you don't have to make two trips. If that's fine with you, Edward?"

"Why wouldn't it be fine with him? He'll come." Edward was not given a chance to speak as Rosalie shuffled him out the office and told him to get his stuff ready while she finished with Bella.

It was beyond him why Rosalie was trying to set him up with a civilian. They were supposed to be strictly professional on the job. He headed up to his office, where he changed out of his scrubs and made sure his drawer (with his pistol) was locked. It was a risk to keep a gun in the same quarters as potential suspects, but he figured even if these doctors were smuggling organs, they probably had no idea how to work a weapon.

"Edward! You're still here! Are we still on for dinner tonight?" It was Alice.

"Alice, I'm so sorry for running off like that," he surprised Alice by hugging her tightly, lifting her off the ground.

"You know, you two may be 'just friends,' but I think we should keep the squeezing hugs to a minimum," Jasper cut in.

Ignoring Jasper, Edward spoke directly to Alice, "I'm sorry for not keeping in touch. Have you seen Mom and Dad recently?" As an undercover agent, he was rarely allowed contact with family. He knew with the CIA, they were allowed to call home and visit at times, but Zone 50 was much more stringent. He had not spoken to his parents in years. Alice, having lived with Edward's family for years, saw Edward's parents as her own and looked up to Edward as a brother. She thought he'd become a reclusive musician and had suffered greatly from the loss of contact. Their connection was evident in the tears now threatening to fall from her eyes.

"They're good. Why – why didn't you ever call? I'm sure – ," Edward shushed her quietly.

"Later. Come over to my place tonight for dinner. We'll talk about this then."

"What's going on?" Jasper looked concerned that his girlfriend was crying over another man.

"I'm sorry, Jazz. Edward was always like a brother to me. He sort of dropped off the face of the planet a few years back. It's kind of shocking to see him again after so long." The tears were gone, and anyone could see that she was visibly building up her perkiness again. "By the way Edward, Jasper is my fiancé. I assume you two already know each other."

"I've had the pleasure," his reply was tinged with sour undertones. He might be over the prank, but he was still an overprotective brother.

"Oh, that's great. I hope you don't mind if he comes over for dinner, too." She didn't wait for an answer as she hugged Edward once more, and said that her boutique couldn't be left with her assistant for too long before it self-destructed.

"So, you went to Dartmouth with her?"

"Mm, yes. Hey, Jasper, you don't mind if I leave? I have a few things to take care of. We'll talk tonight, okay?" Mimicking his cousin, he left without waiting for an answer.

--

"Bella! I'm ready to head out. Sorry to keep you two waiting." He followed behind the two as they headed to what looked like a large red glob of metal. "Is this going to get us home in one piece?" He looked incredulous.

"Please, refrain from insulting the truck. It knows what you're saying."

"Right, and I cheat on Rosalie with my Benz."

"Don't all men?"

Emmett was laughing as they got into the cab. "I tried to get her to sell it and get a used Camry or something, but she won't give it up. Apparently it has sentimental value." He rolled his eyes dramatically as Bella elbowed him.

Somehow the three of them had squeezed into the seats, even with Emmett's large body. The rest of the ride was fairly quiet as Emmett fiddled with Bella's radio, occasionally blaring a loud pop song, causing him to turn it off quickly before trying once more and starting the cycle again. Though Edward found it thoroughly entertaining, he couldn't stop sneaking glances at Bella, Alice now the last thing on his mind. He had a feeling that this girl was going to cause him quite a bit of trouble in the near future.

---

Constructive criticism is much-appreciated. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Twilight wasn't mine last chapter and still isn't this chapter.

--

The uneventful ride with Bella had left his mind reeling. Trying to think about anything but Bella's scent, he changed into his work-out gear and began an intensely grueling marathon session of cardio and strengthening exercises. With each pull-up, Bella started to grow fainter in his mind. This was the perfect remedy for whatever he was feeling. These two-hour sessions always put him in a good mood.

He was showered and had already made pasta for dinner and key lime pie for dessert by the time the Benz rolled into the driveway. It was a wonder what one could do with all the extra time. As Rose walked in, however, it finally clicked to him that he hadn't told Alice where he lived or what time to come for dinner.

"Rose, someone's coming over for dinner tonight. I want to fill you in before they get here."

"Oh, we have friends?"

"Well, she's actually my cousin. Before you mad, let me explain," he took a deep breath. "Alice has been like a sister to me for most of my life because of her parents' early death. I know you think it's stupid – ridiculous – that I didn't keep track of my family after I left, but it would be too much – to know where they live and not go and see them. I didn't want that temptation, and I didn't want to put my job in jeopardy, so I never looked for them. I had no idea that Alice would be here of all the places! I'm sorry if you think this is going to put our project at risk. I won't stop you from reporting me." He looked dejected and emotional as he finished his speech.

"I'm not going to report you. I've never kept track of my friends and family either, so we're on the same page on that. I don't see how Alice is going to ruin anything for – "

"She guessed. She knows that I'm an agent. She's also Dr. Hale's fiancé, the one you want to keep an eye on."

"Well, that can only be a good thing. Gets us closer to Hale, right?"

Edward was dumbfounded. "I don't get it. Why are you so calm about this? I expected you to blow a fuse!"

"You don't know me that well," she smiled sadly. "You know I'm a bitch and why I'm a bitch, but you obviously don't know everything."

"I'm all ears," he laughed, knowing all too well that Rosalie would never spill her guts to anyone. She was tightly wound and had built several layers of brick walls around herself. What Edward knew about her, he was lucky to have learned.

"Whatever. So, when is Alice getting here?"

"Uh – that's the thing. I never gave her my address, and…yeah."

Rosalie simply laughed. "You are such an idiot."

Just as Edward was about to retort, however, a car pulled into the driveway and knock sounded at the doors.

"Edward! You are such an idiot! Jasper had to look you up in the hospital directory to see where you live. Gosh, I felt like such a stalker!"

"Ah, I was just testing you, A," he smiled. "And, you passed."

"Thanks, brother," she rolled her eyes. "Oh, who's this?" She'd obviously spotted Rosalie.

"Um, she's my wife, Rosalie. Rosalie this is Alice. Where's Jasper?"

"Apparently, a friend of his lives down the street from here. He went to drop by. He'll be here in a few."

"Oh, well, in that case. Come in. Let's just get a few things out of the way."

"Goodie! I was wondering when I'd get all the details."

"You are not getting any details. I'm just telling you to keep your mouth shut."

"Edward, dear, don't treat the guests that way. I'm sorry, Alice. Edward is always in such a sour mood." She handed Alice a glass of water she'd gotten from the kitchen.

Alice, though, had picked up on Rosalie's apparent sarcasm. "You're not really married, are you?"

"No! What gave it away?"

"Geez, what's wrong with her?"

"She's always like this. Ignore it."

"Ha! I'm sorry. It's just, I didn't expect you to be Edward's sister. You were the one I saw snooping around in that office on the fourth floor."

"Yeah, that's because I was looking to see if Jasper hid my Christmas presents in his office."

"Oh, I guess I was assuming." She did not, however, apologize.

"Okay, so what am I allowed to know?"

"Nothing, really. Just, please don't act weird around us. For everyone else, we've been married for three years, happily. We're new here, which we actually are."

"Wow, I never thought we'd have the need for spies here. It's awesome, though! Do you guys have guns?" She looked more excited than she should have been. Edward couldn't help but smile in return.

"I can't tell you, A. The less you know the better it is for you. Anyway, tell me about Mom and Dad."

"They're good, but I think Esme has taken it really hard. She never expected her only son to turn the tables like this. You know they think that you've become a drugged musician. They thought Julliard would help you with your genius. They think it's their fault that you've cut yourself off from the world."

"I don't get why everyone thinks I stayed at Julliard. Dad would've gotten the bills."

"They know. They thought you dropped out and became a recluse. Aren't all geniuses insane?"

"I was never a genius. They thought too highly of me." Edward looked frustrated. He wasn't one to get emotional so easily, so was able to keep any depressed looks off his face.

"They're your parents! Of course, they think you were a genius. Anyway, it's been killing Esme. Carlisle, too. He quit his practice in the first year."

"What?! But, that's what he lived for." His father had been a revered cardiologist, who'd quit hospital work to run a free clinic in Chicago. It had become his life's passion to help people who couldn't afford the necessary medical care. Edward thought nothing could stop his father from pursuing this passion.

"Your loss hit them hard, Edward. Why can't you call back home?"

"It's not safe for them to know where I am or what I'm doing. I wish I could."

"Fuck it. You can call back home if you want. Zo – I mean headquarters isn't going to find out if you do. Most of the other agents have kept in touch. You don't have to tell them what you do, but a call wouldn't hurt, especially since you disappeared without explaining," Rosalie paused briefly before continuing, "You are an idiot, aren't you. The least you could've done was given them some closure before you just left!"

"I thought it would be too hard for me. I was selfish." He covered dropped his head into his hands. "I had no idea – I should have – " There was a knock at the door, alerting Edward to compose himself before Jasper came in.

"Jazz! Took you long enough!"

"Well, I thought I'd give you time to catch up. You looked like you needed it."

"Yeah, we finished a while back. I can smell dinner. I bet Edward cooked. He always had this misunderstanding that I love Italian food – I mean just because my mother was Italian."

"Whatever, I know you love it," they walked towards the kitchen, Alice and Rosalie talking in low voices. "So, Jasper, how are things up in the psych ward."

"Amazingly well. I've been assigned a new patient who claims to have dissociative identities so she can get out of a prison sentence for a few DUIs. It's ridiculous the things they do to get out of a bit of jail time. I mean, it's not like she murdered someone."

"You get a lot of forensics cases?"

"Well, not often. This is Forks we're talking about," he laughed. "Don't get me wrong, I love it here, but nothing too drastic happens. Even schizophrenia is a rarity. I mostly just see the regulars, you know depression and anxiety."

"Mm, better than having someone vomit feces when you walk into the room."

"What? I've never seen that!"

"Well, you are a psychiatrist."

"No, I mean, not even in my medical school rounds. Wow, I remember learning about that. What was the cause again?"

"Malfunctioning of the ileocecal valve. It has nothing to do with nephrology and yet…" Edward laughed, realizing that he could get on quite well with Jasper. He seemed fairly immersed in his own department, let alone run a scheme for the smuggling of organs.

"Wow. It's a good thing I rarely leave my floor. Who'd have thought a psych ward would be a safe haven for anyone."

The dinner was fairly casual. Everyone seemed comfortable with the forging of these new relationships as Edward and Alice pretended to play catch-up.

--

"Your cousin, Alice, was surprisingly less melodramatic than I expected," Edward had woken up early the next morning (despite not having the morning shift) to find Rosalie making coffee.

"She's too excitable to get caught up in minor details." After Alice and Jasper had left last night, Rosalie had called it a night without waiting to discuss anything with Edward. He suspected that she was reminiscing about her own family and needed some time to herself.

"So, I think we shouldn't mention anything to Alan for the videocon tonight. It's not going to affect the rest of the project anyway, and I'd rather not have this affect Alice and Jasper. I know you've heard the protection program stories. She'd be an unnecessary victim."

"Thanks, Rose. I owe you."

"I'll keep that in mind," she bit off a last piece of her toast before adding, "anyway, I'm rounding post-op patients in the morning, I think I might be able to see what's going on in Nephrology."

"I don't think Iverson will let you stick around. There's two dialysis appointments scheduled for today and one transplant for this afternoon."

"Then, why doesn't he want you in this morning?"

"I don't know. Just check up on it. I want to try and get into the transplant today."

"When did they find the donor?"

"I think it's actually a three-way donation. They've been setting it up for months. Obviously, they won't be taking two kidneys out of the same person. I think you should try to get into observe a few minor surgeries this week."

She bit the inside of her cheek as she mulled this over. "I don't get it. Why is your cover Nephrology when all the thefts occur in minor surgeries where it's much less noticeable?"

"I thought Alan went over this with you," he sighed heavily. "We want to reverse-investigate the issue. If people have gotten their kidneys taken out unbeknownst to them, they'll probably suffer some symptoms of a major surgery. They'll come back in, be redirected to Nephrology and I can investigate from there. Not to mention, now-a-days, kidney transplants don't involve complete transplantations. They'll just take a portion of the nephrons, so they might take an entire kidney under the pretense of needing the entire kidney but only use a portion of it for the transplant at hand and save the rest to sell."

"Ugh, I'm so glad you got Nephrology."

"Ha, you'll be begging me for my job once they find out you did your fellowship in gastrointestinal surgery – "

"I thought we said that I never finished that fellowship. They can't actually use me as a surgeon."

"It's the only way you can get into the OR for minor surgeries. I think you can try to say you just want to observe for now. Aim for the appendectomies. That's gold," he laughed at the pathetic nature of their jobs. The covers they'd created for themselves were fairly complicated and multi-layered in an effort to make them sound as believable as possible. They needed to be able to cover multiple floors in the hospital without seeming suspicious, so they'd spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the best way to ease themselves into the environment. Edward relished in these covers while Rosalie had hard a time keeping up with them. It's not that she had a bad memory, it's just that medicine was never her interest. She'd only done it upon request when she heard this project was highly coveted.

"Whatever. I applied to observe last week. I'm not jumping up and down to get in anyway. I'll take it when Helen gets back to me on it."

"Alan's not going to be happy."

"Look, my observing is just going to stop it from happening. It's not going to let us catch them red-handed and bring a permanent stop to it. I have a better idea. I'll tell you tonight with Alan. Alright, I'll see you at lunch."

"Wait! How am I getting a ride to the hospital?"

"Bring the bike."

"I thought you said hands off."

"That's 'cause I didn't want the other nurses hitting on my husband," she winked as she walked out the door.

--

A/N: I know a lot of the stuff here is filler, but the story needs to be built up. Sometimes I can get carried away with the details of medicine and physiology (and pseudo-spy things) without explaining what I'm talking about. I've tried to double-check things that can sound vague, but let me know if I'm getting too technical (I don't think I've done that so far).

Also, reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated. :)


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine.

When Edward got in at noon, both the dialysis patients were already being treated. He did find, however, that his schedule was no miraculously full. Someone complaining of side pain, one with high creatinine levels, a regular suffering from nephritis and finally one who'd been experiencing discomfort in his lower back and had undergone kidney function testing. This was out of place. He figured that perhaps Iverson had assigned him all of his patients so he could go into the surgery, but he had no history with these patients. Edward considered familiarizing himself with the patients before going in, but Schmidt from ER walked in without knocking.

"Eddie-boy, we just sent in a patient to ICU. He's had a recent appendectomy, but there seems to be some abnormal bruising on his back near the lower ribs. They're sending him for an MRI. Maybe you could suggest urine tests?"

"Thanks for the heads up, but shouldn't you be telling this to someone who has the authority?"

"Believe me, I've tried. This is the second case like this we've had this month. Iverson thought I was stupid for trying to cost the patients money on more tests. You sound like a rebel, you'll do it," Schmidt raised his eyebrows suggestively. Edward had no idea how Rosalie could stand to be in the same room as this man.

"My schedule's booked, but I'll try to drop by the ICU in a few."

"I knew I could count on my Eddie," he thumped Edward on the back before strutting out the door.

Edward's next patient was in twenty minutes. He pondered whether or not he could send in an order for a kidney function test for a patient he hadn't even met. "Idiot," he muttered before calling Schmidt's cell. "Name," he said simply as soon as Schmidt answered.

"What?"

"How am I supposed to see a patient if I don't know who he is?"

"Oh! Sorry. Calvin Bjorkman. Anyway, a seizure just came in. See you."

Snapping the phone shut, Edward decided against going down to see the patient. He put in an order for the tests from the computer and hoped that no one noticed that he had not actually seen the patient. He wanted to go down, but it seemed like someone wanted him busy up here. He wanted to see what was going on in the OR. Fixing his badge, he readied himself to see his 12: 30. He was already ten minutes late, which in hospital speak meant he was right on time. Just as he stepped out, however, he collided with Iverson, who looked frazzled as he entered the office.

"Edward, can you handle the 1:30 surgery with Callahan? Something's come up and – "

"I think you're forgetting I never trained as a surgeon. I wouldn't mind assisting, but – "

"Oh, right." Iverson looked distracted as he pondered what he should do.

"How about I handle whatever's come up and you do the surgery?"

"I don't know if…look, I just came out from a transplant, and… I don't know how to explain it, but the patient seemed to have residual scarring as if – as if I don't know. It seemed like a chunk of his kidney was missing, taken out roughly."

"Any history of surgeries?"

"Six months ago, a month before his problems started. A splenectomy."

"Who was the surgeon?" Edward held up a somewhat nonchalant façade, but was completely interested, his patient now forgotten.

"Schmidt and Rogers. I oversaw it. I couldn't have missed something like that." He looked thoroughly confused.

"Why don't you report it?"

"Yeah, yeah. Look, go ahead. I know you have a busy schedule today. I'll go ahead with the surgery, and I'll report it this evening." Edward had a sneaking suspicion that he did not want to report it. As the overseeing surgeon, he'd get a lot of flak and have to undergo and in-depth investigation. He toyed with the idea of reporting it himself later today. Pushing it out of his mind, he went to attend to his patient, now a good twenty-five minutes late.

Feeling exhausted after seeing patient after patient, Edward finally took a long break around five. Sitting in his office, he was finally able to concentrate on the reason he was here. He considered snooping through Iverson's files, but was not able to capitalize on the thought as Callahan and Iverson walked in, deep in conversation.

"I reported it, but they're going to through with the investigation on me no matter what."

"There's no way you're going to avoid that, but as long as your record's clean, you have nothing to worry about. Besides, Schmidt's already gone through the same investigation twice before. He's clean. You're clean. Why don't you talk to Rogers?"

"Admin wants to keep it quiet. I'll let them take care of it." At this point both doctors turned to Edward, who flashed a wary smile in their direction. Either the surgeries for the day had been cancelled or the last transplant had been a cinch because both doctors were wearing civilian clothes, scrubs nowhere in sight and coats neatly hung on the door.

"Masen, how was your day?"

"Drop the act, Callahan. I already know what happened. Were the rest of the surgeries cancelled?"

"The kidney was a no-go, so they cancelled. He's still top of the list, so we'll be able to find another match."

Biting the inside of his mouth, Edward excused himself as he speed-walked to Rosalie's office, his new shoes squeaking loudly as he slid to a stop outside her door. "Rosalie," he said before he knocked twice.

"Come in."

"Rose! Did you hear about the transplant this morning?" She shook her head no. Quickly, he jumped into what he knew, and they began discussing the best plan of action.

"I think we should get Schmidt's older records first. Then, maybe launch our own investigation into Rogers."

"You think Iverson is actually clean?"

"No, but why don't we save the best for last?" Rosalie grinned as she continued, "As terrible as this sounds, would it be appropriate for me to be happy?"

"Very appropriate. Finally, a move on the case!" The two discussed their next plan of action. Rosalie had wanted to come back tonight when the Internal Medicine department was quieter, but Edward said that Chief (Alan) would want to know about the new movements in the case before the two took their first step. After much convincing, Rosalie finally agreed to wait until their conference call tonight at 11.

When both had made it home later that night, Rosalie in the Benz and Edward on the bike, their conversation took a lighter turn.

"Mm, Eddie. I got back Bella's results this morning."

"And…"

"I wasn't completely wrong!"

"What? What's wrong with her?"

"She's anemic, which would explain why she keeps falling at every available opportunity. She's probably not as strong as she should be."

"Oh. Are you prescribing those disgusting iron pills?"

"Ugh, no. I think I'll prescribe food first. Then, we'll move from there."

"You have an appointment with her tomorrow?"

"Yes, but – " The two were interrupted by the doorbell. Pushing his chair away from the table, Edward made his way to open the door.

"Edward! It's been so long!"

"Alice! Just yesterday. I saw you just yesterday!" He peeled Alice's arm from around his neck before finally getting a view of the person behind him.

"B- Bella! What are you doing here?"

"You already know each other? Fantastic!" Clapping her hands together enthusiastically, she jumped up and down. Nothing had changed about the pixie before him. "Aren't you going to invite us in?! it's snowing out here!"

"It's not like you weren't going to come in if I said no." Moving back to allow them to come in, he asked again, "To what do I owe the incredible displeasure of having you here?"

"Oh, Brother. I missed the sarcasm. I was just showing Bella around the neighborhood. She's considering buying a place here with her father. I thought it'd be awesome to drop in on you while we were here, you know?"

"Very awesome, indeed. Rose and I were actually in the middle of something."

"Oh, shut it. I know the most you two ever do is talk from five feet apart. Some marriage you have." She rolled her eyes.

"What the hell, Alice!" He pulled her roughly aside, as Bella stood back looking obviously awkward. "I thought I told you our relationship and the reason I'm here is strictly between us. My boss doesn't take this lightly. Both you and I will face repercussions if he finds out that you know, and you're doing nothing to hide it," he whispered to her frantically, hoping she'd understand.

"Oh, posh! I'm not doing anything to blow you're cover," she whispered back before loudly adding, "It's not my fault your marriage is going through a rough patch!"

"Alice, darling, let's keep marital problems on the down low, alright?" Rosalie had decided to join the conversation. To Edward she added, "She's quite the handful, isn't she?"

Edward's eyes popped as he realized what Alice was doing. In a quiet but deadly tone (one that had made him one of the most feared men in his time undercover with the drug running gangs in the south), "Alice, you will not now nor ever try to set me up with someone while I'm on the job. Understand?" His grip on Alice's arm had tightened incredibly. She looked like it was started to hurt her. Noticing the look, he quickly let go, apologizing before turning to Bella.

"Sorry about that. I hope you ignore anything my friend says about me from here on out. She's very -

"- sorry for the intrusion. Bella and I will be leaving, now." Though she looked angry, her eyes looked somewhat fearful.

"No, wait. Alice, I'm sorry." He ran his hands through his hair, looking frustrated. "You don't understand. This – " he sighed heavily before continuing. He knew he was going to regret this. "This – this thing that's going on between Rose and I – it's taking a toll. I'm sorry for taking it out on you." He rolled his eyes as Rosalie looked at him grinning widely. Alice's eyes displayed the shock she felt as she listened to Edward agree with her story.

Alice, like Edward, was quick to forgive and forget. Before long the quartet was sitting around the living room sofas talking amicably. Edward could not keep his eyes from wandering toward Bella as they spoke of the current housing market, her father and anything but what had just happened.

"And you wouldn't believe it. Fran toppled every single book in the library. It was a mess! No one believed that quiet Fran would do anything like that. Everyone thought that as a teacher, I was completely capable of doing that!"

"Obviously, Bella, just look at those hulking muscles." Edward couldn't stop laughing at all the stories Bella had to tell about her students. Bella, in turn, giggled. She giggled. She didn't have the time to consider why she was giggling as Edward launched into a story of his about a patient he'd seen just last month. No one would believe that the two didn't know each other from the conversations they were having. Rosalie and Alice shared a look as Edward and Bella broke into another fit of giggles.

Alice's mind was already jumping into overdrive, as she watched the two. Edward, watching her out of the corner of his eye, could only hope that she wasn't thinking up some evil plan to go with the look she had on her face. Of course, he had no idea what her evil genius was going to cause.

---

A/N: I'm just realizing that you have no idea as Bella's character. I'm thinking half of next chapter will follow Bella so you can get a whiff of what her character is like. I promise more interaction between the two, even though I fail at writing romance. It's all so cheesy to me.

Anyway, reviews and constructive criticism are, as always, appreciated.

In regards to a comment in one of the reviews, I just wanted to say that Jasper's last name when he was pranking Edward was something he made up. Kwakowski is a play on the word "quack." His actual last name is Hale, which is what he introduced himself as. I should've made it more apparent. Sorry for the confusion. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Not mine.

--

After spending more than two hours at Edward and Rosalie's place, Bella seemed to get the feeling that Alice had not spontaneously decided to drop in on them. As Alice drove manically toward Charlie's secluded home, Bella decided it was safe to begin her questioning. "So…why did you want to see Edward, anyway?"

"Because he's like a brother to me, and I love him. Am I not allowed to visit him whenever I want?" She looked to innocent for her own good.

"Save it, Al. I know you're up to something. You better stop it right now or…"

"Or you'll stop playing Barbie? Darling, you have no threats against me. Besides, I wasn't planning anything anyway. You have nothing to worry about." She smiled innocently once more.

She bit the inside of her cheek as she pondered how to put her next question into words without seeming suspicious herself. "Um, Alice, you aren't trying to set me up with Edward, are you? Because that's just – "

"Even if I was, there's nothing wrong with it. Their marriage isn't even a marriage anymore. I'm not forcing you into polygamy, but that's beside the point since I'm not trying to set you two up unless, that is, you want to?" She wiggled her eyebrows at Bella.

"Ugh! Alice!"

"What?! You wouldn't have asked if you weren't interested! Don't think I didn't notice how you laughed at all his stupid jokes. We both know he isn't exactly the funniest crayon in the box."

"Funniest crayon? What's that even supposed to mean?" Bella often found herself frustrated of Alice, but she found that imagining herself cutting up all of her precious designer dresses helped a lot to sooth her.

"Who cares? Whatever, get out, we're here. I'll see you after school tomorrow."

"Why was that again?"

"We're going wedding dress shopping, kiddo. Bye!" She drove off without waiting to see Bella's reaction. Tomorrow was going to be hell.

--

School the next day was as boring as usual. Teaching literature to a class of nine-year-olds was exactly as fun as she'd thought it be…meaning, of course, not at all. She loved her job, but sometimes she just wanted to toss the apple bearing Ms. Swan, and start fresh. She'd always wanted to write full-time, but that wasn't exactly an option at the moment.

"Alright, settle down. Okay. Okay. Jed! Stop that! You want to see Mr. Greene a second time this month? Yeah, I thought not." Pulling out her battered copy of The Indian and the Cupboard, she let out a frustrated sigh as the class finally settled into their seats. "Okay, so let's be honest. Who read chapter five last night?" Everyone except Jed, a boy with bright red hair who smiled cheekily at her, had their hands in the air. "Jed, sweetie, if you don't do the reading, how are you going to participate today?"

Jed smiled sweetly before saying, "I never said I didn't do the reading. I read chapter five last week."

Of course, he did. Jed was a pain in the neck, but he was also the brightest boy she'd ever met. "Alright, Jed, you know what I meant. Next time you'll know better than to hold up the rest of the class." She looked sternly at him over her reading glasses. "Okay, so let's continue. Who wants to summarize the chapter for us?" Immediately, Jed's hand shot in the air. This was a regular occurrence. "Anyone who hasn't had a chance to do so yet?" No one. "How about Cassidy? I think you haven't had a chance to – "

She was interrupted by Jed speaking out, "Ms. Swan, I don't feel so good." Bella rolled her eyes. It was another attempt at getting her attention. Before she could reprimand him, however, he broke into a coughing fit followed by a fainting spell. Running quickly over, she examined his forehead, checking his temperature. "Someone call the nurse!" Though she kept her voice calm, her heart was beating erratically. Cassidy, the shy girl in the front of the room, sped to the phone, picking it up and dialing the number written in bold on the wall. "She wants to talk to you, Ms. Swan." Bella raced back to the phone and explained the situation. After a few minutes, the nurse informed her that there was a shortage of ambulances at the local hospital, and the next ambulance would take five to ten minutes to get to the school. She didn't have the chance to wonder how many people could need an ambulance in Forks as her mind was in overdrive. Frightened by Jed's diminishing heart rate, she informed the nurse that she'd drive him to the hospital (which was only a five minute walk away) as long as someone came in to watch her class.

Bella pulled into the hospital Emergency Department drive area and ran into the triage area looking as if she'd run ten miles to get to the hospital. "I'm sorry for the…" She stood to catch her breath before starting again. "He fainted in class, and I think his heart rate is dropping. Is there – " She wasn't allowed a chance to speak as the nurse called a code, and a few important looking nurses rushed out and ushered them in. She had no idea what was happening next, but when her mind regained coherency, a suave-looking doctor was explaining to her what had just happened. None of it made sense. "I'm sorry, doctor…"

"Dr. Schmidt. Are you okay? Would you like a seat?" He gently rubbed his hand up and down Bella's arm.

"No, it's okay. Can you just – just tell me what's wrong? Should I call his parents?"

"Oh no, his mother's a nurse in the Nephrology Department upstairs. He should be fine. He was suffering from an infection that clogged his bronchi, and that's what possibly triggering the fainting episode. Seeing as the brain needs oxygen…"

"Are you sure that's all?"

"We've scheduled him for an MRI just in case, but you don't need to worry, Ms. Swan. It'll be fine," he stared at her, concerned. "Look, I'll have the candy striper grab you glass of water and a chair. Make yourself comfortable. And remember, deep breaths." He smiled brightly before moving on to the next patient. Taking the seat the volunteer had just pulled in the room for her, she finally took the deep breaths Dr. Schmidt suggested.

--

Watching Rosalie pace around the room, Edward knew she'd taken the conference call worse than he had. Alan had informed them to avoid getting caught doing anything suspicious. He said he'd have the analysts hack the hospital's network to get any records. Edward had seen this coming, but Rosalie wanted to be able to do something herself. Having never been an analyst, she didn't know the things they were capable of completing without even needing someone on-site. Because he'd done his time as an analyst, however, Edward was well aware of the great feats one could accomplish with a computer and no humans.

Finally growing frustrated of pacing around, Rosalie blurted, "They won't find everything you know. Anything on a computer could've been altered. Let's find the hard copies on our own."

"Look, Rose. There's no use in getting antsy. Hospital records are rarely ever successfully hacked without proper systems like our own. Neither Schmidt nor Iverson know where any of their records are stored and in what database. I think it's safe to say that all the files on the database are legit and reliable. Let's just sit back for a bit, and wait on them to get back to us in a few days, alright?"

"Okay, fine, but what about the two post-ops complaining about kidney problems."

"Which ones?"

"The one in ICU and the other one that came to see you today."

"Ultrasounds on both revealed intact kidneys, Rose. Please, just calm down. We'll do something when it gets to us, alright?"

"Fuck! If I'd wanted to calm down and sit around waiting for something to happen, I'd have become an analyst!" Flopping down unceremoniously on the leather couch, as far from Edward as she could get, she let out a long, disappointed sigh.

"You have no idea what you're talking about. Look, get some sleep before you say something you'll regret." He started to get up when Rose mumbled something incoherent from under her arms. "What was that?"

"I don't want to sleep. I want to complain," she pouted like a five-year-old.

Edward laughed at her expression before, making a straight face and responding, "I know you want your beauty sleep. God knows you could use it." Laughing, he dashed off to his room before Rosalie could say or do anything about it.

---

Edward's schedule was being bipolar on him. While yesterday was filled to the brim, today was relatively open. Leaning back in his chair with a bag of chips in his hands, Edward looked too relaxed for someone who was supposed to be living a high risk life with a high risk job. The sudden ringing of his cell caused him to jump slightly, dropping a few chips on the floor. He laughed to himself at the irony of the situation (he was a trained agent!). "Dr. Masen."

"Dani is in the OR assisting Callahan. What's the problem?" He listened patiently as the secretary recounted something of importance to him.

"My schedule's open right now. I'll go down and see what Schmidt wants." Tossing his bag of chips aside, he trekked down to the ER.

"Hi, Joss, is Dr. Schmidt in? He called for Dani, but she's in OR."

"Dr. Masen! It's been ages since you've been down here. Actually, Dani's son is here. He fainted in class from a bronchial infection that was constricting his air supply." Edward turned around to find Dani's son, Jed, sleeping soundly and a frazzled looking Bella taking deep breaths in a chair beside him.

"Bella?"

"Edward? Do you know Jed?"

"No, but his mother's my nurse. He's going to be alright. How are you?"

"Fine. Just tired. I don't know how you do it. The environment here is so stressful."

"You get used to it. Come on, let's go get a distressing cup of coffee."

Bella nodded numbly, following behind him as he led her to the hospital coffee cart in the garden outside. Passing a window, though, she was stalled. She noticed her hair was completely out of place, her blue blouse looked like it had seen better days and her eyes had spontaneously developed dark circles underneath. "Oh my god! I look…I look…"

"Great! Come on Bella, your hair has seen better days, but that blouse is stunning." It was too late for him to take back the last comment as he noticed Bella's eyes widen slightly. "I'm sorry, I mean… I don't know what I mean. Let's just go get the coffee." Pinching the bridge between his eyes, he continued his walk.

"So, is Dani busy?"

"Yeah, in surgery." Edward, noticing Bella running her hands through her hair trying to fix it, couldn't help but smile. "You know, I prefer your hair pointing in all directions."

"I don't think it matters what you prefer. I don't think your wife would be pleased." She giggled. Oh God! She couldn't believe it. She should cut off all contact from this man to prevent acting like a fool every time she was around him.

"Au contraire, my wife would be quite pleased. Didn't you get Alice's message. She'll jump at any opportunity to tear my throat out."

"She seems so sweet! I don't think she's as…catty as you make her out to be."

"Of course, women always stick together. Leave the poor man all alone!" He pretended to be melodramatic, causing Bella to giggle once more. Edward was quite enamored by the laugh and would likely do anything to hear it again.

"Aw, poor Edward," she smiled, but in actuality she was wondering whether or not to address the elephant in her head (not the room, perhaps). "You and Rosalie aren't actually…"

"Oh, I don't quite know the answer to that myself. We've been together for ages even if we've been married only for a relatively short while. I guess we're just growing apart. Maybe we weren't quite meant to be romantically involved," he shrugged nonchalantly before going ahead to open the door for Bella.

He bought both of them soy spiced chais but not until Bella had protested heartily at having someone pay for her. He told her it was his treat to make her de-stress. "Let's take this inside. The snow's not going to help the de-stressing process."

Sitting under the cruel hospital lights, Bella was sure she looked a mess, but at this point she cared less. "Mm, so tell me, why are you in Forks?"

"I thought we already talked about this the first time we spoke?" He laughed.

"I didn't actually believe you'd let Rosalie drag you here. You must have another motive."

"Another motive to come to Forks? Ha! That would be a miracle. Why don't you tell me why you're still here?"

"I love it here," she smiled blissfully. The short conversation with Edward seemed to have done her good. She was about to ask another question as someone behind her spoke, "Edward!"

---

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!

About the last name question: when I was writing Jasper's introduction, I couldn't recall that his last name was Whitlock, and for me Jasper Hale always sounded right, so I stuck with it. I figured that the world and Forks had room for more than one Hale (unrelated Hales, that is). Sorry about that. :)

Reviews and constructive criticism are, as always, appreciated. :)


	8. What Heels Can't Fix

Disclaimer: Not mine.

--

"Ed – Edward!" A beautiful blonde woman called their way. Edward did not seem to know the woman. He looked towards her questioningly, but she simply walked past them to a family seated behind them. He let out a breath he'd been holding as she passed. Her voice had sounded uncannily like Esme's (his mother).

"How many parents name their kids Edward? Isn't that sort of old-fashioned now?" Bella smiled tauntingly.

Edward took the bait. "Hey! Edward is a perfectly fine name, a great name, in fact!"

"Not so much. Eddie on the other hand…"

Bella was blatantly flirting, and he couldn't help but flirt back. He did not care to think or ask himself what sort of woman would go after a married man because he did not consider himself attached. "Oh, come on! Eddie?! What about Isabella? That one's centuries old."

"Isabella was a queen –"

"And, multiple Edwards were kings and princes. Invalid argument, Ms. Swan." He flashed his brilliant teeth at Bella as he got up to toss their cups.

"Alright, alright let's just say we're both old souls and call it even. Kapish?" She grinned back.

"Kapish. Anyway, Queen Isabella, as much as I'd love to stay and chat. I have a 1:00 coming in. I'll see you later." Bella continued staring as he took the stairs up to his floor. As the Edward-induced euphoria began to die down, she finally came to terms with the fact that she was blatantly flirting with an attached man. Was it considered ethical if he flirted back? No, she must have been imagining it. Shaking her head empty of all impure thoughts, she continued back to the ER.

---

The hospital's lights seemed to have a different effect on Edward today. The blaring fluorescence was giving him an unnaturally strong headache. After seeing most his patients for the day, he sat at his desk, eyes squeezed shut and head on the desk. He couldn't help but groan loudly when Dr. Schmidt walked in and flipped on the offending lights. "Tough up, Eddie. What _are_ you doing in the dark in the middle of the day anyway?"

"Shut up," he said returning back to his original position.

"Right, right. Did you hear about the investigation?"

"Possibly," Edward replied still not moving.

"Look, I think they might interview you about the case and if you know anything worth mention about us, and I'd appreciate it if you kept it clean."

"Look," Edward mocked Schmidt's tone, "I think that I'll say what I think. If you have nothing to hide, I don't see why you should be worried."

"I know, it's just this has happened to me twice already. Maybe the third time they decide that they've had enough? I can't afford to lose this job. No one hires a doctor who's been through these things."

"What happened the last two times?"

"Same thing. I was doing the first one alone with a resident and the regular nurses, but the patient ended up having to go in again because of some internal bleeding, and they found the same thing they did this time around. Last time, I was with Iverson, observing. I had all the gear on obviously, and he had me assisting for a bit of it, but the patient suffered internal bleeding again. We had to go in the next day and found - or rather didn't find a kidney where should've been one."

"What about the nurses? Do they get reviewed?"

"No, not usually. The nurse practitioner does, but they don't think a nurse would have the opportunity to actually do anything."

Edward simply bit his lip in response.

"I'm sorry for bothering you with this. I've just – "

"I'll be honest with you. Your egotistical act isn't going to help you. No one likes a guy acting like he owns the fucking place, but I really don't think you have anything to worry about. If anyone does, it's Iverson. Especially since he oversaw."

"Thanks…or, wait, whatever. Thanks. I'll ignore the first comment." He dawdled for a bit, looking awkward. Finally, taking his cue, he shut off the lights and left the room.

Sighing Edward leaned back in his chair. He was going to have too much on his plate soon enough to have headaches for thinking about Bella. His pager buzzed obnoxiously the same time his personal cell went off. Glancing at the message on the pager – "line 2 Dr. Iverson." Ignoring the cell, he picked up line 2. "And you couldn't have just called me?"

"Ah, I forgot your direct extension."

"Shoot away, boss-man."

"I have a request. I think the dean should be by to see me in a few. Can you tell her that I'll be out for a few hours?"

"If she asks where you are, I say…"

"I have patients. I'll be on the seventh floor. Psychiatry has a patient with acute nephritis."

"You know, I can take care of that if you want to meet with the dean."

"I'd rather not. I'll catch her this evening. Thanks." He hung up without waiting for a reply. Rolling his eyes, Edward checked his cell. He had a missed call from Rosalie. His phone vibrated in his hand once more.

"What's up?"

"Chief Swan called. He said that he's having a small holiday thing at his place in Forks. He wants us to go since we – or, I - helped Bella. He says some of the more intriguing doctors from the hospital will be attending, and it might be a good chance for us to meet some doctors he thinks are suspicious."

"When?"

"This Saturday evening. I already said yes."

"Remind me why I agreed to work _with_ you, instead of just _for_ you?"

"Whatever, babe. See you tonight."

--

"Bella! What are you doing here now? Most people I know choose against hanging out at hospitals."

"Oh, I love this place, Rosalie. I hang out here _all_ the time."

"What are you really doing here?"

"A student collapsed in class. His mother just came down, and I was just getting ready to make an escape!" She laughed.

"An escape before I caught you to remind you to eat your leafy greens?"

Bella pulled a face. "Rosalie, I think I'd rather have those pills you were talking about."

"Trust me, Bella, you don't want me to prescribe you iron pills. Just make enough time for yourself to eat healthier. Maybe if you cut back on the meaty stuff and made more –"

"Point taken. Hey, my dad told me to tell you about a thing – "

"Holiday celebration? Already invited and RSVP'd. You're a little behind things, darling."

Rolling her eyes dramatically, she replied, "Oh well! Anyway, I have an antsy Alice to get back to."

"Wait, I know we have the anemia diagnosis, but I think I'd be happier if you caught an inner ear exam as well. If we find something wrong with your – uh – ear health, we might be able to change you in a graceful swan over night!"

"Please, if anything could fix this," she gestured to her feet, clad in old sneakers, "It would've already been done."

"Just go through the tests, and we can fix your feet. They're nothing that a pair of manolos can't fix." Rosalie eyed her feet calculatingly.

"No. Just no. I'll do the tests, but I assure you that a pair of fancy heels won't fix anything. Alice already tried. Anyway, I'll see you Saturday or if I come in for the tests before that." She rushed off before Rosalie had the chance to run at her with pumps, boots or whatever it was she was suggesting. In her haste, however, she speed-walked past Edward (who was innocently going through a few of his patients charts), causing him to drop the papers as he turned to see Bella come to a stop. Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned around yelling sorry blindly to the person before her.

"Bella. Bella…Bella!"

Her eyes flew open. "Oh, Edward. I'm sorry! I was just – Rosalie was suggesting – five-inch heels – and…Oh, screw it. I'm sorry, I was just in a hurry."

His eyebrows shot up as he attempted to decipher the words spewing from her mouth. "It's okay. It's completely fine if Patient A gets a transplant scheduled for Patient B. That sort of thing happens all the time." He flashed a lopsided grin.

The joking, however, did nothing to help Bella's situation. She began hyperventilating. "Wait, Bella! I was just kidding." He picked up the charts, ordered them carefully and continued, "See? No harm done." Bella, however, continued to breathe quickly. "Bella, stop! Calm down. You're going to pass out." Putting the files back on the floor, he grabbed Bella's shoulders and instructed her to breathe in and out, in and out, slowly. After a few minutes when she was back down to an acceptable heart rate and breathing tempo, Edward asked, "For some reason, I'm assuming that little panic attack was, in fact, not triggered by these poor patients' files."

"No, it's just – I've just had a terrible day. First with Jed, and then – then…" She trailed off, realizing she couldn't voice the next particular thought in front of him.

Edward was quick to catch on. He had trained in reading facial expressions, tone of voice and analyzing possible situations. He figured it had something to do with him, but what it was he couldn't fathom. "Bella, if it was something I did or said earlier, I'm sorry."

"No…no! Of course, it's not something _you_ did! I was just – I can't explain. I don't want to make anything awkward."

"You won't. I promise."

"Edward, I barely know you, so please understand this means almost nothing. I just – I can't help feeling like there's something – something," she took a deep breath, "between us, you know? It's just an infatuation, and it doesn't help that you're beautiful, but I'm trying to stop, and I can't. I can't stop thinking, and I keep feeling guilty because you're married! You're _married_! I know you two are having problems, but that's no reason – that doesn't make anything alright, and if – "

"Bella! Stop! Look, I know what you're talking about, and I haven't been helping the situation. I want you to understand that my being married shouldn't make you feel guilty – and I won't explain why right now, but please don't beat yourself up over this. This is entirely my fault. You haven't done anything wrong, but I do think that we should maybe stop seeing each other alone. I'm not exactly the best thing for you. I have issues." He looked at her pointedly, willing her to understand that she wouldn't have done anything wrong if he hadn't encouraged it.

She nodded briefly, leaving them in an awkward silence. "Anyway! I'll be at your place this weekend. I hear Chief Swan knows how to throw an awesome party!" This was their cue to forget everything that had just happened.

She let out an unwilling smile before replying, "The last thing Charlie knows how to do is throw a party! It's all Alice, speaking of which, she's probably waiting outside the school waiting for me! We have a wedding dress to shop for." She smiled before waving good-bye.

As he watched her leave, Edward couldn't help but think that with each moment he spent with her, he was getting himself into more and more trouble.

--

A/N: Sorry for ditching you guys! All five of you :). Haha. Anyway, even a few readers are readers, and they should never be left hanging, right? So, yeah, I'm sorry, but I had finals to take and a lab to go. Between this and that, I never got a chance to finish the chapter. I'm sorry if it looks unedited because it isn't.

Also, I realize that the story seems to lack flow and important stylistic charactersitics, but I'm not a writer, and I'm trying to work on that. Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

As always, constructive criticism is appreciated (it's that green button at the bottom, I'm told).

Until next time, cheers!


	9. Off the Trail

Disclaimer: Not mine.

--

The knife hit the cutting board with each stroke. It was obnoxiously loud yet he could still hear everything else with such clarity that it never failed to astound. The television upstairs was on some medical drama – it sounded like a certain Dr. House's cane knocking on the floor as he walked. Lupus, it's always Lupus, he thought. The shower in the master bath was on, but it didn't sound like anyone was actually in the shower. Rose must be meditating. The cars were zooming through roads outside – not one of them below speed limit. Of course, the station must be understaffed.

The first time Alan had suggested he meditate with a few former monks, he'd scoffed at the idea. How was sitting cross-legged in a dark room for hours on end going to strengthen his will, mind and body? It wasn't. But, as per Alan's repeated requests, he'd spent an unmentionable amount of time sitting in a dark room, heavily scented with incense. It was complete silence at first, but after having spent numerous months practicing the art of listening, he could hear the tiniest sounds outside the room. Before long, he grew so sufficiently irritated by the sounds of his partners' breathing patterns that he had to stop. They regrettably informed him that he would've made for a horrible monk with his remarkable ability to be irritated by virtually anything.

He'd stopped meditating ages ago, but he'd been plagued by this uncanny ability to hear and analyze anything that went on, especially when the room was quiet. He tried unsuccessfully to focus on cutting the cucumber into thin slices. Finally giving up, he threw the knife into the sink and emptied the cutting-board into a small bowl. He'd wanted to keep himself busy to avoid thinking about a particular person, but for some reason his mind was not cooperating.

In all honesty, he knew nothing about her aside from the obvious. She was gorgeous. She was a teacher. She was the daughter of the town's police chief. She was off limits. It shouldn't be this hard to avoid attachments with civilian nobodies. He'd spent years cutting off all connections, but this one girl was going to force him to throw it all away. He'd received various awards and recognitions for his work with the drug running gangs in Georgia and even more for his corporate price fixing bust before that. He'd developed many synthetic attachments with important people, but everything was transient. Nothing mattered. Nothing ever mattered. Developing an intimate relationship with a low-level exec was a cinch. Dropping her after his job was done was even easier. Why? Because it didn't matter. Everyone - everything was just a wrung in his ladder.

His colleagues often thought he didn't care enough about the people associated with his assignments, but they didn't understand. They didn't know that he made sure he never got too attached himself. He only went after the individuals who exhibited exceptional malevolence and incredible arrogance. They didn't matter. Hurting them – teaching _them _lessons brought him satisfaction. He looked at it as hitting two birds with one stone.

Bella was another story. From what he'd seen and understood, there was nothing about her that he could use to convince himself to get attached to her and leave her. Bella did not deserve that treatment. Bella did not deserve someone like him.

Pressing the palms of his hands onto his eyes, he exhaled. His mind was working in overdrive, and even the sounds outside his quiet home did nothing to irritate him enough to forget about Bella – forget about his newly developing problem. "Fuck!" He yelled, kicking the sleek black leather of the sofa in front of him.

"Keep it down, would you?!"

"Sorry!" Sighing loudly, he flopped down into sofa. Not comfortable. Getting up again, he jogged upstairs to turn off the television he'd deliberately left on earlier. He went quickly through his clothes to find sweats and a black track jacket. Dressing quickly, he went for a lengthy jog in the snow. Running in heat killed him. He hated it. Running in the blistering cold, made him feel alive. Half an hour into his jog, he began almost immediately to feel the effects of the endorphins. The cold wind refreshed his mind while the endorphins warmed his heart. There was nothing a good run couldn't heal. As he was about to turn around, he noticed the trail ahead took an irregular turn into a particularly dense patch of wood. Deciding against his better judgment, he went on ahead. What he saw ahead would've been serene had he not been hugely distracted by the body hanging haphazardly in the bushes.

"Hey! Are you alright?" No answer. He bent down to examine the part directly visible to him. No blood. No bruises. No signs of struggle. Only a few scratches from running through overgrown brush. Carefully, he pulled the body out of the bush, only to drop it back down out of shock. There was no mistaking that suave face. It was Schmidt! Holy shit, there was more to this place than it let on. He briefly wished he had gloves on him, but that wasn't exactly an option at the moment. He went with a visual examination instead. Schmidt was wearing a tracksuit, nothing out of the ordinary for a marathon runner. Dirty shoes? Check. Beanie? Check. Pulse? Check. Wait…it was faint. Fuck. It would take him a good forty-five minutes to drag him closer to the road. Deciding against calling the police, Edward flipped open his phone to dial Rose. He hoped she wouldn't be too far-gone into her meditative zone.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Fuck. Ring. "Edward, this better be good."

"Listen. I – I found Schmidt's body. He's still breathing, but his pulse is faint. What's the quickest way to get out?"

"Hold on." Rose flipped open her laptop and opened the GPS program to find Edward's location on a map of Port Angeles trails. This is what Edward loved about working with Rose. She never asked questions when she knew he meant business. He found a body? Whatever. What's the next plan of action? That's what she always wanted to know. After the dust had settled, they would analyze and hypothesize, but in the field – in the heat of things – she never asked questions. "I don't see anything other than the four-mile route you took in. I think you should call Charlie. I think they recently got equipped with two bikes. The trail looks wide enough to accommodate."

"Are we under Charlie's jurisdiction?"

She quickly checked the police station boundaries on the map. "It looks like the Port Angeles Station covers everything north of downtown. The trails are basically no-man's land. Just call Charlie." She hung up to indicate that the decision had been made.

Ring. Ri – "Forks Police."

"Charlie! I was out running the Port Angeles Trails when I came across Dr. Schmidt's body. Do you think you could bring the bikes down to get him up the hospital?"

He noted down the address, and told Edward he'd be there in a few with Johnson. He'd have forwarded Edward to the paramedic if he didn't already know that he was a doctor.

Flipping his phone closed, Edward knew he'd have around ten to fifteen minutes to get as much information from the body as he could before the valuable evidence was contaminated by the police. Making sure to periodically monitor his heart rate, Edward set off to visually memorize the state of the body. Nothing out of place. He looked as if he'd simply tripped into the bushes and fallen asleep. Leaning into smell his breath for traces of alcohol or even ketoacidosis, he noticed something else. There was a faint trail of blood down the back of his neck. Rolling Schmidt's head over, he noticed a lump at the base of his head that seemed to be bleeding slightly. Someone had obviously and deliberately tried to knock him out. He stood up abruptly to look for a weapon or footprints somewhere in brush. Alas, there was nothing. He wanted to go ahead up the trial to see if someone was still hiding out, but he heard the distinct sound of two police bikes heading up the trail. He doubted anyone stupid enough to do this would be smart enough to remain hidden through all of this anyway.

Readying himself for Charlie's imminent arrival, he pulled up Schmidt's body so he could easily lift him when they got here. As Charlie pulled up, he motioned for him to remain seated. "No time. I don't want to risk losing any time. Look, I know how to ride a bike. Why don't I take him to the hospital and Johnson or you stay behind while one of you follow with the other bike?"

"Okay. I'll follow. Johnson, cover the area and send for Evert." Johnson nodded as he handed the bike off to Edward and helped him strap Schmidt in so he wouldn't fall over or off.

Edward did not look back towards Charlie as he sped off toward the hospital, hoping Charlie was using a headset to alert the ER. As he pulled in, however, he noticed that no one seemed to be prepared for their arrival. A triage nurse looked outside the window lazily, as he yelled at the paramedics in the ambulance to go and get help. "Hey! Over here!"

Charlie pulled in with the sirens on, causing everyone to jump to attention almost immediately. Damn, he wished he had that privilege. "Please, could you fetch a nurse and bring out your stretcher? Call a code while you're at it. This is a medical emergency!" Soon enough, everything seemed to be taken care of. In a flurry of blue and red scrubs, Schmidt was taken in. Everyone obviously recognized him. He was well-liked on the floor. Edward made to follow, but Charlie pulled him back by his arm. "Let them handle it for now. Let's go into Gabe's office here to get the formalities out of the way, alright?"

"Yeah, sure." They sat down in the now-empty triage nurses' office.

"So, just a rundown of the scene would do." Charlie sat back stiffly. The police uniform suited him well.

Edward explained to him everything that he'd seen, including his inventory of the area and large lump on Schmidt's head. He explained the possible effects of such a blow to the head and firmly said that such an injury could definitely not occur by falling anywhere on the trail.

"It's interesting, no doubt, but I think we should reserve our judgments on that until later. If you don' t mind my asking, was there anything going on in the hospital that may suggest any animosity?"

"There was a lot going on actually. I saw him earlier today to discuss that, in fact, but I don't think I have the authority to divulge that information to you. If you asked the hospital administration, I'm sure they'd be willing to discuss it," Edward hesitated slightly, wondering if he should pass on the information that Iverson and Rogers might be to a good place to start. He decided against it after a bit of thought, thinking that he'd lose all access to that information once it got taken to the police. He didn't think Charlie would want to share anything gained from those interviews with a civilian, even if that "civilian" was thoroughly involved in investigative procedures at the hospital.

"I'll do that. Thank you for – " Charlie was cut off by his cell. "Bella, it's okay. Calm down…It's fine! It's just – Bella! Look, I'll take care of it. I swear, Bells, how old are you?! You know what, just for that, I won't do it. Do it yourself." He hung up abruptly, a smile gracing his face, breaking the previously austere demeanor it held.

"Is she alright?" Edward looked a tad too curious to pass off as nonchalant.

"Yeah, she's fine. Apparently, the neighbor's cat decided to grace us with a dead mouse as a present. She wants me to take care of it. She can't handle dead animals."

"So, is she going to be – "

"She was acting like a ten-year-old. I told her she could handle it herself." Charlie grinned at the thought. He was getting some sort of sadistic pleasure from this since he'd obviously "take care" of his fair share of dead animals for Bella's sake. Edward began laughing himself, imagining Bella making a face as she covered her nose trying to kick out a dead rat. "Yeah, funny isn't it? I'd like to be there myself, but seeing as I have some foul play to take care of…"

"Yeah, about that…I'd – uh – I hope you don't mind if I ask to keep updated on this? I think it might help us out with SM."

"SM?"

"Sorry, Saving Medicine. It's just too corny. I hate saying the name out loud."

"I see. You know, if I think it's related to what you're doing here, I'll definitely keep you up to date on it."

"Thank you for all your help Charlie."

"No problem, Masen. I'll see you tomorrow evening, yeah?"

"Of course. The party's still on?"

"No reason to stop a bit of fun. I think Schmidt's going to be fine, and he never attends these parties anyway, so I think it's alright."

"Alright then, I'll let you go."

--

After making sure Dr. Schmidt was completely out of any threat, Edward made his way home – or rather looked for a way to get home. None of the nurses or doctors were going to be heading home at this hour. It was too early for the day shift to end. Groaning, he slumped into one of the benches outside the side entrance of the hospital. He didn't want to call Rosalie here just for a ride back, but began to flip open his phone nonetheless.

"Edward! What are you doing here?" It was Bella. No. Not now. Edward groaned visibly, covering his face with his hands.

"A few things came up. Why are you here? I thought you had a rat to take care of?"

"Oh – um, that's taken care of. I came in to get one of those inner ear exams."

They remained silent for a while, staring at the floor. Awkward silences were painful. "Hey, do you think I could get a ride back home? I left my car back home. I actually rode here with Charlie."

"Charlie?! Why?"

"He'll tell you, I'm sure."

"Oh, alright. You can get a ride. Come on." She indicated for him to follow as she walked towards the parking lot. Staring at her retreating form, Edward groaned once more. He was a masochist. He had no idea why he willingly put himself through such pain. To be so close to her but not have her. He was going to regret asking for a ride. No question.

---

A/N: Thanks for reading! I completely understand how everyone feels when they don't get reviews. :( I'll live.

I'm sure you noticed that the style of writing is a bit different. Let me know what you think.

Cheers.


	10. Breaking and Entering

Making sure he wasn't being followed, he hooked his messenger bag around his neck and casually took the darkened back stairwell up to the 9th floor administrative offices. No one would be in at work in the admin offices at this hour on a Friday. After getting home following the Schmidt incident in a thankfully uneventful ride with Bella, he and Rosalie had had a short phone conversation with Alan, who told them the analysts found that the hospital had not gone completely paperless. Their most important records were kept in paper form in the assistant dean's office. Alan suggested now was as good a time as any to break in. They'd spent a month familiarizing with everything about the place, so there was no need for excessive preparation. Both Rosalie and Edward agreed. Rose did not have a shift again tonight, so this one had fallen to Edward, much to Rosalie's chagrin.

He slipped his hands into latex gloves from the examination rooms as he neared the AD's door. It was obviously locked, but they'd gotten a hold of and made copies of the master key early in their time here. There was no need for a break in. _Click_. He was in. The thrill of the moment was running through his veins. The adrenaline made his heart pump twice as hard as he slipped into the office and began searching through a drawer glaringly labeled INVESTIGATIONS. Subtle.

Sliding the drawer open, he noticed that a bit of spring cleaning and computer logging could save the AD a good amount of time, but small towns were forever behind in such things. Rolling his eyes, he eyed all the labels. Many of these were former doctors, a few present and of course, Rogers, Schmidt and Iverson. Schmidt and Iverson had hefty files. Rogers had a flimsy, brand new manila folder. "Happy initiation, Dr. Rogers," Edward whispered before taking the files to the in-office copier. It was an older one. Thankfully, it would not keep track of what had been copied and when. He placed all the papers on the top, so each page would copy on its own. While the copying took its time, he turned to the other folders. Nothing of interest, but he knew eventually they'd be going through all of these for confirmation and information as to how long these misdeeds had been going on.

As the copier beeped to indicate the job was done, he heard a door open and close outside. Someone must have come in. All the lights had been out when he'd come in. Shit. Quickly he stuffed all the papers in their proper files and into the drawer. Peeking out the windowed door, he slid the copies into his bag. Was that the dean? What was she doing here, now? He looked around the room for a place to hide as he suspected she would not be going to her own office tonight. He eyed the table and window briefly before groaning and whispering, "Fuck it." He slid open the lock on the window and pushed it out. Thank the lord for rickety old hospitals that don't follow the code. There should've been grills on the window to prevent crazy patients from jumping out, but the 9th floor was sane admins only. Looking down, he eyed a small ledge. Rosalie would've been fine with the slim area to stand. He slipped out, nudged the window shut and crouched down, holding on for his life. Briefly, he looked down. The lot was empty. If he fell, no one would find his body until the next morning. Luckily, everything was not for naught, as he heard the door open inside and someone open the desk drawer, take something out and leave quickly. Letting a breath out, he managed to slip back in and slump against the lower wall before shutting everything and making sure all was back to normal. He noticed the table drawer was ajar as he turned, however. What had the dean come in for? The drawer was labeled SPARE KEYS. The AD must be OCD with all her labeling. Apparently, not all the admins were sane. In the drawer, he found much to his grand surprise, spare keys. The dean must've forgotten her keys somewhere. That must mean she was still on the floor. He slid quietly out the door, noticing the lights on in her office. Nothing fishy other than a late night on a Friday.

As he stepped out of the hospital, he rang Rose. "Done!" He was uncharacteristically cheerful.

"Obviously."

"When are you ever not sour, Rosie-kins?"

"Shut up, idiot. I made dinner. Don't make me poison it."

"Oh, darling, please don't kill me. I'll do anything! I'll even sleep with you." He mock pleaded as he got into the driver's seat of the Benz.

"Oh gross, in that case, let me make sure I do poison the food."

"I'll eat out." He hung up laughing.

As he drove home, something struck him. It was 11:30 on a Friday night. Why _was_ the dean working so late? She hadn't seen patients personally in ages. Office work could be handled on Saturday. Was there more to her than he'd thought about previously? And, if she had the AD's key, why not her own? Later. I'll figure it out, he thought, as he turned into the driveway. He was glad for the preoccupations, mental and physical, since it kept Bella out of his head. After the awkwardly silent ride home with her, he'd realized that she had a conscience (obviously, he thought, rolling his eyes at himself), and if everything worked out, he wouldn't have to keep away from her. She'd stay away of her own accord.

"Rose?" The house was eerily quiet.

"Eddie-boy! Up here!" He found a blonde-haired…thing…hanging upside down from the upstairs railing. "Just stretching out my muscles."

"I don't want to know."

"Oh, posh! Of course, you want to know. So, anyway, how'd the thing go?"

"What'd you think would happen if I fell nine stories?"

"You'd die. Then, I'd have to find myself a new partner. Why'd you ask?"

He stared at her pointedly.

"Ah! You ran into a glitch, didn't you? It would've been better if I'd gone, considering heights are my thing." She grinned brightly as she adeptly flipped over the railing and landed on the floor with a muted thud.

"You ever think, you're using up your ninth life right now?"

"Cats have ten lives, idiot." For some reason, Edward took her word for it. Whatever she said.

"You said you made dinner?"

"Yeah, but I ate it. I never said it was for you."

"Who said I wanted it?" Going to the freezer instead, he pulled out a half-full box of mint chocolate ice cream. In the process, he'd thrown his messenger bag onto the table. Rosalie immediately pulled out all the papers that filled the bag.

"Nice."

"Yeah, check out Rogers. He's practically clean."

"No, no. He's probably just good at hiding it. I wonder if we can get a hold of his stuff from the last hospital he was at. Where'd he work?"

"Seattle General. I'm _sure_ they're computerized. The analysts can take care of it."

"Damn analysts."

"Damn hot analysts!" He grinned.

"You are such a nerd, Cullen."

"And you aren't?"

She wagged a spoonful of ice cream at him threateningly before going back to the papers. "Check this. Iverson only became head of Internal Med 'cause Rogers turned it down. Why would you offer that position to the new doctor in the first place? And, better yet, why would someone turn it down?"

"Rogers is probably an easy pushover, and he used to be head of gastroenterology back in the city, so he has the cred. Maybe he was just tired of the paperwork?"

"Why would anyone want an easy pushover? Unless Iverson suggested him in the first place, so he wouldn't have to take the flak for anything fishy…"

"Or, the dean could be in on it. Listen…" He went on to recount everything that had happened while he was in the office.

"Well, that would make sense. But, then, that'd mean these records are completely unreliable. I bet she quashed any evidence there was against them if she was in on it, too! Or, she's framing them, and someone completely different is doing all of this!"

"That's not possible, these were the guys in surgery the last three times it happened. There's no way someone could've snuck in an OR during a surgery."

"Okay, then. So, it's a ring? The dean, Rogers, Schmidt and Iverson."

"Or, it's just the dean, and everyone else was simply following orders?"

"I don't know. That would be risky, unless she had some serious leverage."

"Maybe Schmidt wanted out, or he was threatening to tell! That would explain the body."

Rosalie bit her lip at the revelations. They spent the rest of the night looking through the files and papers, finding nothing extremely exciting that they hadn't already known.

The following night, Rose had wanted to drop in on Schmidt and Iverson's homes before going for the Chief's party, but Edward had objected, saying it would be too risky. They'd go after the party (Iverson would be too drunk to notice someone snooping around) or the next day. They needed the cover of the darkness on their side.

Instead of following Rosalie's plans, the two were now getting ready for what had been described to be a "formally casual" affair. Both had dressed in jeans. Edward had opted for a deep green button up with the sleeves rolled up and ends untucked ("for the casual look," he commented), while Rose went for a blue sweater that accented things Edward would rather remain hidden. Around five, the two left with coats in hand, attempting to go for a casually late instead of a woefully early arrival.

The Chief's place was fairly large and secluded in location, but felt homely and welcoming nonetheless. _Knock kno-_. "Edward! Way to be late!"

"Alice, ten minutes is really not considered late."

"Time is money, brother, time is money!" Alice ushered them in, taking their coats.

Inside, Edward noticed that Alice had, as per usual, gone all out. Christmas had vomited red and green all over the place. It looked tasteful, gorgeous even, but there was no place in the world feeling this Christmas-y. It was like walking into a glitzy mall…in New York…in a cheesy holiday film. It was all very Alice. "How long have you held the Swans hostage, Al?"

Alice leaned over and whispered conspiratorially, "The whole day, but it's alright. You don't have to worry about the food. I didn't try my hand this year. Bella's a wonderful cook."

Edward ignored the comment, and walked into the filled living room to greet the Chief. "Edward! Rosalie! I'm glad you made it. Have a seat, we were thinking about pulling out a few of Alice's old board games."

Walking in, Edward could see the mistake he had made. Ten minutes late was, in fact, considerably late in small town terms. Everyone was already here. Jasper, Emmett, Iverson, Dani, another doctor he'd seen on the floor and many other people he'd never seen were all gathered around the floor in a circle of sorts. Placing a small wrapped box under the Alice-approved tree, he moved to sit next to Jasper. Rosalie had opted to go check out the kitchen, presumably where Bella would be. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce everyone," Charlie began, "Matt, Angela, Ben and Jessica went to school with Bella. Jacob, Quill and Leah have known Bella for ages now. Billy is Jacob's father, and I think that about covers everyone you don't already know."

"Hello," Edward mocked the awkward situation, giving a toothy smile and exaggerated finger wave.

"We come in peace!" Emmett joked.

That had set the evening off in a playful manner. It wasn't long before they'd decided to feast on Bella's creations before coming down upon the games. They seemed to be a small family within themselves. He was curious as to why there weren't more of the doctors here, since Charlie had mentioned that he was somewhat close to the hospital workers. That had been the primary reason for the invitation, unless Alice had filled Charlie's ears to get Edward an invitation. He wouldn't put it past her.

As they settled around the table, he got his first glimpse of Bella. For obvious reasons, he couldn't take his eyes off. The blue of her turtleneck contrasted so strikingly with her pale skin. He had to hold onto his chair to keep from doing anything rash. Not a moment too soon, Rosalie walked out of the kitchen, holding a container of mashed potatoes and grinning from ear to ear. "Check it out, Edward, Bella and I match!" Indeed they did, but the blue did not do as much for Rose as it did for Bella.

Bella took a seat next to Edward, which Alice and Rosalie seemed to have left open accidentally on purpose. "So, how's it going?" Everyone had already settled into conversation by the time Bella worked up the nerve to speak to Edward without seeming too nervous or idiotic.

Startled by her words, he swallowed something the wrong way, causing Rosalie to turn around from her riveting conversation with Emmett to thump him on the back. Edward winced as she did so. That was going to leave a bruise. "Excuse me. Um, it's going fine actually."

"Have you heard about Dr. Schmidt?"

"Yeah, um, I was with Charlie. He's going to be fine." He cut off the conversation abruptly. "So, what are your kids reading in class these days?"

"Oh – uh, we just finished _The Indian and the Cupboard_. I was thinking about going off track and maybe reading them _Holes_."

"Oh, I don't think I've – uh – heard of that one."

"Yeah, it was actually quite – " Bella was interrupted by a foot kicking her abruptly in the shins. She turned around shocked towards Alice. "What do you want?" Her teeth were clenched, and she was glaring.

Dropping her voice, Alice replied, "Would you quit with the small talk already? Talk about something more interesting!"

Ignoring her, Bella turned around to finish her account of _Holes_. Alice rolled her eyes, a plan already brewing in her devious mind. The rest of the crew got a glimpse into the beginnings of the plan without an idea of what it was about when at the end of dinner after everything was cleared away, Alice clapped her hands mischievously and declared, "Oh, Charlie! Why don't we break from tradition and skip to the games instead of just sitting around getting drunk? What do you think?"

Looking like he could care less, Charlie waved his hand as if to indicate whatever you want and went back to pouring more wine in Dr. Iverson's glass.

Everyone was settled around playing what was deemed to be an innocent game of charades by everyone but Alice when Bella came up to take her turn. Conveniently, Alice had placed her on Edward's team while Rosalie sat flirting shamelessly with Emmett on the other team's couch. Alice giggled evilly while whispering a "common" phrase for Bella to act out. Eyes wide, Bella glared. "Alice, be serious!"

"Oh, I am quite serious!" With that, she gave Bella a shove towards the other team.

"Okay, Bella, bring it!" Ben, or Dr. Ben as was determined earlier in the night, cheered.

"Umm…"

"No talking!" Quill yelled from behind.

Alice crossed her fingers as Bella began. She held up three fingers for three words and started with the first, pointing to herself. "You!" Shaking her head, she pointed to herself once more. "Me!" Everyone on the team cried out. She motioned with her hands for them to continue guessing. Finally, someone on the side yelled, "I!" Nodding her head vigorously, she looked back towards Alice before continuing on to the second word. She closed her eyes, clasped her hands together near her chest and smiled. She looked smitten. No one seemed to have a clue. She kept doing this for a moment until a light bulb flashed. _Of course, she should have done this earlier. _She brought her two hands together in curved and slightly demented heart. "Heart!" She nodded her head, asking for them to keep guessing. Everyone was silent for a minute before a voice said softly, "I love you." Obviously, it was Edward. Alice did a mental dance as she took in Bella's reaction. She looked as if she were about to simultaneously melt into the ground and combust spontaneously from the embarrassment. Edward held her gaze for a brief moment before breaking it, and allowing someone else to have their turn. The two were awkward the rest of the night, and did not seem to participate thoroughly in the rest of the night's activities.

As the party split ways, Dr. Iverson was unanimously determined to be too intoxicated to drive. They'd been sitting around playing Pictionary without the aid of drinks for more than an hour, but Iverson had, as usual, consumed a spot too much of wine before the drawing began. As a law enforcement official, Charlie made sure that he was driven home by Ben. Rosalie happily volunteered to take his car to work for him tomorrow morning. Both she and Edward knew they would conveniently change their minds and decide to drop it off later tonight – if they were caught snooping, which was "highly unlikely," but it didn't hurt to have a pretense to be at Iverson's just in case.

Edward and Rosalie sped home, both going to change into something more appropriate for the task at hand. Edward donned green cargo pants, a skintight brown Henley and boots. Rosalie appeared catlike from around the corner in black. He rolled his eyes, "What are you going to say when someone sees you? 'Oh, I always hang around in suspicious black clothing.'"

"No one is going to see me because it's black. _When_ someone sees you, on the other hand, will you say that you always wear so little when it's below zero out?"

"It's easier to say I forgot my coat than explain suspicious clothing." He rolled his eyes once more before grabbing his leather gloves and heading for the door.

They drove separately to Iverson's mansion of a home, Edward getting there first. They'd already discussed the plan beforehand. Edward had the shack in the backyard while Rosalie investigated the basement, which conveniently could be accessed from outside.

Edward parked the car half a mile away while Rosalie parked Iverson's car in front of the house. Putting on his leather gloves, he slipped carefully past the bushes that adorned the front of the house. He took a quick peek into the windows before shuffling to the back. There, behind the grandiosity of the house, was an unkempt shed. Rosalie had discovered it some time ago, but neither had permission from above to break and enter. Iverson had money and influence, and any whiff he got of this, they'd be in jail with their careers down the drain despite their political immunity.

Carefully yet quickly, he unlocked the padlock on the front doors of the shed. He'd had to go the old-fashioned route since he had no key this time around. Looks were, indeed, deceiving he discovered as he went in, shutting the doors behind him. He heard Rosalie come around and lock him in from the outside, so Iverson wouldn't discover the shed unlocked if he came outside. Inside the shed was a well-kept study of sorts. A small book shelf lined the left wall and a large painting of rolling green hills adorned the right. Next to the bookshelf, was a small glass desk, complete with a laptop. Directly across from it was a comfortable-looking loveseat. The ground was covered in a plush red rug. Underneath was no doubt cement. Slowly, Edward looked through the bookshelf, even opening a few to see if the covers were fake. _Nothing of interest._ At the bottom, underneath a pile of old Encyclopedias, he found a file, but it turned out to contain old papers in a foreign language he did not recognize. It looked Scandinavian, but he could be wrong. He had never mastered those languages. He was still hung up on Dutch. He'd never been able to move higher north of that. He took a few pictures of the three pages with a slim, expensive-looking camera before returning everything.

Next, he went for the laptop. Easily, he was able to pass the login screen password. Years of being an analyst had to be of some use. The desktop had a background of Iverson's wife and kids, all of whom were on a small vacation at her parents' home in the glades. "So, family man Iverson, show me your secrets," he muttered going through the documents and downloading everything onto a slim external hard drive. He had only just begun looking through a few files that looked interesting while the download completed when his phone buzzed with a text from Rosalie. _Compromised. Get out now._

A/N: Ah, shoot me now! I'm so sorry for ditching you all like this, but things caught up, and I've been busy with work and whatnot. To pay for it, this chapter is extra-long. I hope you like the spyness…especially after Salt just came out.

Props to anyone who recognized the outfit Edward wore to break into Iverson's as Dexter's kill outfit (from the show Dexter).


End file.
